Hamilton on Fire

Through a complicated chain of events (my brothers wife knew someone at work who told them about the event), we headed out to Hamilton Harbour to catch a fireworks display put on by the Canadian Fireworks Association, as part of their 2010 Convention.
We ended up in the top half of the parking lot, and were able to secure some bench's at a "point" that projected over the lower parking lot. We had blankets as it turned cold, but a great view of the event.
There were a variety of events, such as an east west battle, and demonstrations of new fireworks being developed. Everyone was enjoying the show, even though a lot of people bailed from the event without realizin that there was still a finale to go. The full show lasted from 8:45 til after 10, and included some 1812 re-enactor canon firing from 7:30 to 8:45.

The Force is strong in St Catharines!

The weatherman was predicting a lousy day on Saturday, so I searched the net for some ideas to occupy my time.
Surfing around, I found the Force United Niagara web site. They are a group of members who do charity events dressed in Star Wars uniforms.
Now, I've seen a few of these events, via the 501st Legion, Canadian Garrison, but these guys seem to really go all out. At previous events, they had great turnouts of members.
So I saw that they would be at a St Catharines Toys R Us, so I decided to head down to check them out.




It was a great decision, as their were a couple of jedi's,



sandtroopers,







bounty hunters





a rebel pilot



bike trooper



an empirial gunner



And Lord Vader himself!





They were very cooperative, and seemed to enjoy posing with everyone.

We even had them come out of the store and pose the entire group!

I hope to catch some of their other events, as again, they have a great turnout, and everyone seems to enjoy seeing them!



SCHEDULED EVENTS for 2010

JAN - We Are All Stars - London, Ontario (501st)
FEB - OPEN
MAR - Wizard World Toronto Comic Con - Toronto (501st)
APR - Toys R Us - Promotion - St. Catharines (FUN)
- Entertainment Overload - Welland Event Promotion
MAY - 4th Annual Star Wars Event & Toy Show - Welland (FUN)
- London Sci Fi Event in the Park - May 8th London (London Rouges)
JUN - Grande Parade - Welland (FUN/YJN & 501st)
JUL - OFF
AUG - FanExpo - Toronto (501st)
SEP - Help a Child Smile Annual Event - Welland (FUN)
- Grape & Wine Parade - St. Catharines (YJN)
OCT - Food Festival - Welland (FUN)

A Busy Day!

Had a busy day today!
First went to the Motorcycle Show. Wasn't really what I expected, as it was mostly just a flea market.
There were some bikes on display, including this very chromey one!



Also bumped into George Stroumboulopoulos, who was attending the show as well!



Next headed to Riverwood Park, right next to the Credit River in Mississauga. Unfortunately didn't see a lot of nature, but some guys were getting some white water practice in.
Some had white water canoes, but also a standard canoe and a small kayak. It was a perfect little spot where they could get some action in, but only a small distance to paddle back upstream to where they started.





Next it was down to Toronto to hopefully catch the sunset with the City as a backdrop. Riverdale Park on Broadview was where we set up. Unfortunately, the sun dissapeared, and it even started to rain!

Earth Hour

Every year for the past few, the City of Toronto holds an Earth Hour event. They have always been held at City Hall.
And then this year, they moved to Yonge Dundas Square. Now, I like this place, but its just too small of a venue for a big event like this. I think its because CITYTV is now the sponsor, and they like the idea of having it in their back yard. Now to be honest, I'm not a big fan of the things CityTV have done recently, so I'm probably negative because of that.
But still, once we get there, its a tiny stage, wedged in between two large speakers, and the bands were way back on the stage. So basically, you had almost no view of the performers, unless they walked right up to the edge of the stage.
On top of all that, the event actually was a big let down. Even before the 8:30 deadline, they had turned out all the advertisement boards, so when it came time to throw the switch, pretty much the only thing turned off was the YD Square lights.
Very sad.

There was a tree:



There were bands (Jarvis Church in the picture)Chantal Kreviazuk, and Justin Nozuka



And it was hosted by Kevin and Dina from CityTV:



And here is Dina looking a little scared


and maybe a little intrigued!



She was probably a little of both when it came to the guy they had up on stage to kill a 1/2 from 8 to 8:30....it was a guy who shoved a balloon up his nose, and out his mouth! Oh, great fun that was.....not!

And on top of all that, the next week, CityTV was claiming "10's of thousands" of people attending, while everyone else talked of the 100's of people, which is a more real number!

The only interesting thing was after we went to the Eaton Centre, where metal spiders took advantage of the dark to creat havock in the world of humans!

Fun at the Derby!!

Last year, somehow, I heard about the Toronto Roller Derby League (ToRD). I tried to watch the season final, but unfortunately, it was sold out. I was dissapointed, but still wanted to see the girls in action.
Well, March 27/28, I finally had my chance. ToRD was hosting the Quad City Derby event, where a all star Toronto team hosted teams from Montreal, Hamilton, and Vancouver.
The home track is the "Hanger", one of the many hangers at Downsview Park.
They have seats around 2/3's of the track, and many were in attendance.

Lots of refs are needed to follow the constact action.







And one of the teams had a snazzy looking coach, complete with an old fashion brief case.


(This picture was just after an argument with the ref, as one of his players was penalized for not having her full number on her shoulders)


And the team members go all out, on both their nicknames, and their numbers! Here's a few watching the intermission, which was presented by the Pillow Fight League.





First the teams practice on the track, stretching, doing some drills, and getting ready for the event.













Then the teams are introduced, and they have a great way of doing that. As they skate around, their names are announced, and they "pop" out of the crowd.



Now, I'm old enough to remember Roller Derby on the T.V. (who can forget Skinny Mini Miller!), but this was not, as they say, your fathers roller derby.
There was no fake wrestling like hits and falls, this was simply hard action.













Now, I don't know all the rules, but one I know concerns the "Jammer". These are the people that score all the points during each "jam". There are two on either side, and they start a bit behind the main group (look for the stars on their helmet). Once they make there way through the group, the first through is labled the "lead jammer". They then control the jam, trying to repass all the main group again. Each pass leads to a point, until the lead jammer "calls" the jam.
As you can seen from these two pics, their name really does describe their job!





Once the game is over, the teams skate by each other, and then the crowd, which I think is a great way to involve the fans in the game.





All in all, I think its a great event to go to. Everyone was having fun watching the action, and the teams really put a lot of effort into every jam. I look forward to seeing a few more events in the future, now that the schedule is out.